The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2014, and October 31, 2015, are automatically nominated for the 2015 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on October 23, 2015, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

KIRKUS REVIEW

This tiny tale about individuality aims to encourage kids to be exactly who they are—without apology.

Morris, a diminutive mouse, doesn’t squeak like the others. In fact, he doesn’t squeak at all. One might say he’s multilingual. Morris is a one-mouse barnyard, making the sound of a different animal (as well as a couple of other objects) every time he opens his mouth. With each “quack,” “vroom” or “cock-a-doodle-doo,” his fellow rodents become increasingly determined to fix him. They’re definitely not comfortable with his abnormal way of communicating. All the while, Morris doesn’t seem fazed; he just keeps on being…Morris. Tactile interactions are minor, mostly triggering slight animations. Little ones can find and collect cheese wedges to unlock a “record” feature, which allows them to do voice-overs on the sounds. Once the recordings are complete, readers have two versions of the story: the original and a personalized edition that inserts the recordings into the narrative (hint: recording begins after the countdowns, not before). At the end of the story, a cat shows up; when Morris barks like a dog, the cat scampers away, never to return. Suddenly, his quirky linguistic style is seen as an asset, and he wins the affections of his former detractors.

Though the interactive features are nondescript, this sweet, simple story may spur a valuable conversation or two about nonconformity. (Requires iOS 6 and above.) (iPad storybook app. 3-6)

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